Hazel Hollyhock
by Hazelnutt
Summary: A hopefully sweet story about fairies helping another in need. My first story and I suck at summaries, so...please R&R if you get the chance! Thanks! :D
1. Short Little Intro

I was born from a laugh in New York City in the late springtime. Her name was Hannah, I was told later, and her quiet little giggle sent a scurry of air out her open window and down to the street below, where an ivory blossom on a leafy green tree was coaxed up, up and away, towards the full moon on a cloudless night.

As the blossom hit Pixie Hollow, fairies started to arise from all over and meet at the sparkling fountain of dust. I floated down to the stump of a big oak tree, still in my tree blossom form, and immediately a weathered sparrow man came and sprinkled dust all over me. Under the watchful eyes of every fairy in Pixie Hollow, I folded out of the soft cream-colored flower and became Scarlet Aspenhorn.

Queen Clarion laid out a circle of mushrooms around me, each with a representation of a different talent. She wished me good luck on finding my talent, and every fairy seemed to hold their breath as I turned towards the first mushroom.

I headed for the water bubble first, but no luck. The water fairies sighed in disappointment as the bubble burst all over the small brown fungus. I felt guilty, but Queen Clarion nodded at me and I went on.

The flower wilted, the tornado burst into a hundred specks of earth, and the circle of light dimmed at my touch. The small little chipmunk, trembling from cold, was my last hope.

I approached it nervously, feeling hopeless and embarrassed that I hadn't yet discovered my talent. This is the one, I kept telling myself, but somehow I still couldn't believe it when the chipmunk seemed to smile and darted over into my arms.

All of the animal-talent fairies cheered and poured over to greet me. I smiled and shook the hands of my new comrades, feeling like I belonged, I wasn't the freak who didn't have a talent. I was an animal-talent fairy, and proud of it.

There was only one other animal-talent who had arrived within the last month, and her name was Lucinda Dazzlethorn. We bonded immediately, each contributing something to the other: Lucinda showed me the ropes, and I gave her a loyal friend.

That was a few months ago now. With the help of all of the nature-talent fairies in Pixie Hollow, we have turned spring to summer to fall. It's late October, my sixth month at Pixie Hollow. A few more animal-talent fairies have come, but Lucinda is always my faithful friend.


	2. We Meet Hazel

"Ready, Scarlie?" Luce shouts from the shallow little burrow that she calls her home. She is holding a small little cocoon in her arms. A butterfly is fighting to get out, but without our help, it will never succeed.

"Ready!" I shout back, and Luce squeezes the cocoon as hard as she can until the butterfly pops out and comes whizzing towards me. But I'm ready for it, and grab the butterfly out of midair.

"There you go, little guy," I whisper. The butterfly gives me a nod of thanks and flies off towards the mainland. I smile and wipe my hands on my maple leaf apron. "A job well done," I yell across the meadow.

"We make a great team!" Luce agrees.

Laughing, the sound of the bell is almost drowned out. But not quite, and as it rings loud as day, Luce and I grin at each other. It's a brand new chance to get another animal-talent fairy, and with hibernation season coming up, we need all the help we can get.

We gather at the now-familiar stump of the oak, as we visit there at least six times a week. Sitting on our usual nearby tree branch, we gaze up at the sky, waiting for a flower or a leaf to float down from above.

And one does - a very unique one, actually. A lily-of-the-valley drifts onto the log, and weather-talent fairies guide it into the middle using their wind - but no. It refuses to go to the middle. It stubbornly stays on the left, defying the force of gravity. Finally the fairies give up and the sparrow-man is ushered forward to sprinkle the Dust.

Out rises a fairy with bouncy red hair and shocking violet eyes. She glances around at all of the fairies. I imagine that her eyes stop and sparkle a little when they meet mine, but the moment passes and she is glancing at Lucinda and then the fairy next to her. Her eyes don't even pause at Queen Clarion.

Without warning, the shivering chipmunk suddenly stands up, squeaks loudly, and starts bounding towards the newcomer. She laughs joyfully, a laugh as unique as a snowflake crafted by the most talented of winter-talent fairies. Everyone gasps.

"Well, I think you have found your talent," Queen Clarion says warmly. But the girl doesn't even seem to hear. She just keeps playing with that chipmunk.

"Excuse me," Queen Clarion says. "Excuse me! Hazel!"

The girl - Hazel - turns around. "Yeah?"

Queen Clarion sighs. You're never supposed to say a fairy's name for the first time with anger or frustration. On the other hand, this fairy seemed to be the exception to every rule.

"Hazel Hollyhock," Queen Clarion repeats. "Welcome to Pixie Hollow. I am Queen Clarion. Obviously you have found your talent, so please proceed over to the animal-talent fairy and sparrow man log. Thank you."

Hazel rolls her eyes as she flitters toward us. "That woman is so - I don't know. She seems too uptight. Don't you think? Who is she, anyway? She acts like she's the queen of this whole thing."

We glance at each other. I say, "She is."

"And _you_ are?" Holly says.

I glance at Luce quickly, then stand up. "I'm Scarlet Aspenhorn. This is Lucinda Dazzlethorn." I proceed to name every fairy and sparrow man on the log. "We are the people who are supposed to help you learn how things are done here. If you don't respect us and our customs, we're not going to do that. Right, everyone?"

"Right," they all agree.

Hazel shrugs. "Whatever. So, where's my house going to be?"

Everyone glances at Emerald Firebug, the oldest of the animal-talent fairies, and therefore our leader. She sighs and stands up.

"I really don't want to do this, Hazel, but I'm afraid I have no choice. I'm going to have to take away your powers until you learn the proper ways of Pixie Hollow animal-talent fairies and sparrow men."

"I don't get the problem," Hazel says, turning to me. "What did I do wrong?"

"Maybe if you listen to what people are saying to you, you'll figure it out," I counter.

Hazel sighs. "Okay, I get it. Can you please not take away my powers?" she says to Emerald.

Her act is so convincing that for a second, we all believe it. But Emerald is wiser than that, and she shakes her head. "You need more time."

Holly stamps her foot in the air angrily. A little flurry of pixie dust trickles down to the solid soil below. "Can someone _please_ explain to me what I'm doing wrong?"

"You're just so disrespectful!" Penelope Pumpkintoes pipes up. She is the goody-two-shoes of our group. "Especially to Queen Clarion."

"That's the _queen_?" Hazel breathes. "Oh! So _that's_ why she got so mad. And _that's_ why she was acting so bossy."

"Okay, Hazel," Emerald says sternly. "I'll lead you to your home, and once we get you settled, you're saying goodbye to your fairy dust for a month."

"A_ month_?!" Hazel explodes. "That's impossible. I can definitely learn faster than that. I mean, I'm a pretty good observer and a fast learner, and obviously I can be useful - I mean, animals definitely like me -"

"Yes, that seems to be true. I wonder why they're so attracted to you…you could prove to be a good help for the hibernation season. Maybe I'll bring your fairy dust back for a day in a couple weeks, just to see what you can do. But until then…I'm sorry, we just can't have you like this."

"Ugh." Hazel rolls her eyes. "Fine. But when I get my fairy dust back, can I have it, like, extra back? I mean, since I didn't have them before, like, just for a little while?"

Emerald frowns. "No, of course not. Why would uneven the playing field in your favor? You're disrespectful and rude."

"Oh, thanks. That was nice." Hazel snorts in fake amusement.

"No," Emerald corrects her, "It was true. And it still is. Now come on." She turns back to the rest of us, still gazing in quiet respect. "You all can go home. There is nothing interesting to see here anymore."


End file.
